TExES 268 School Operations & Policies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A campus principal discovers that a teacher has been sharing student discipline records with parents of other students involved in an incident. Which law is MOST directly violated?
- Title IX
- IDEA
- FERPA (Correct answer)
- Section 504
Correct answer: FERPA
FERPA prohibits the disclosure of personally identifiable student information from education records to unauthorized parties without consent.
Question 2: Under Texas law, what is the maximum number of days a student may be placed in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) for a discretionary removal?
- 30 days
- 60 days
- No statutory maximum; placement is determined by the campus behavior coordinator (Correct answer)
- The length of the student's placement must not exceed one year
Correct answer: No statutory maximum; placement is determined by the campus behavior coordinator
TEC §37.008 does not specify a maximum for discretionary DAEP placements, but the duration must be appropriate and reviewed periodically.
Question 3: A principal is reviewing the campus master schedule and notices that ELL students are disproportionately clustered in one teacher's class. What concern does this raise?
- Teacher workload equity
- Potential violation of equitable access to quality instruction and possible programmatic segregation (Correct answer)
- An opportunity to improve ELL grouping efficiency
- A scheduling convenience that benefits ELL students
Correct answer: Potential violation of equitable access to quality instruction and possible programmatic segregation
Disproportionate clustering of ELL students may indicate inequitable access to diverse instructional experiences and could signal programmatic segregation issues.
Question 4: A principal receives a report that a staff member has used corporal punishment, which is prohibited by district policy. What is the MOST appropriate immediate action?
- Suspend the staff member without pay pending investigation
- Document the report, notify the appropriate district administrator, and investigate according to district policy (Correct answer)
- Counsel the staff member informally and monitor future behavior
- Inform parents of all students in the class
Correct answer: Document the report, notify the appropriate district administrator, and investigate according to district policy
Principals must follow district procedures for investigating alleged policy violations, which includes documentation and notification to appropriate district-level personnel.
Question 5: Which document outlines the specific procedures a campus must follow when a student is referred to law enforcement?
- The campus improvement plan
- The student code of conduct (Correct answer)
- The campus emergency operations plan
- The ARD committee minutes
Correct answer: The student code of conduct
Under TEC §37.001, the student code of conduct must describe conditions under which a student may be referred to law enforcement.
Question 6: A principal wants to implement a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework. Which operational step should come FIRST?
- Purchase PBIS reward supplies
- Form a PBIS leadership team and conduct a needs assessment using existing discipline data (Correct answer)
- Announce PBIS to students and families
- Attend a PBIS conference to learn best practices
Correct answer: Form a PBIS leadership team and conduct a needs assessment using existing discipline data
Effective PBIS implementation begins with establishing a leadership team and using data to assess current needs before selecting or announcing specific strategies.
Question 7: A district policy requires principals to conduct a minimum number of teacher observations per semester. A principal fell short of the requirement due to a family emergency. What is the BEST course of action?
- Falsify observation records to meet the requirement
- Notify the supervisor, explain the circumstances, and develop a plan to fulfill remaining observations (Correct answer)
- Conduct all remaining observations in the final week of the semester
- Ask an assistant principal to sign off on observations they did not conduct
Correct answer: Notify the supervisor, explain the circumstances, and develop a plan to fulfill remaining observations
Transparent communication with supervisors and a plan for remediation upholds professional integrity while addressing the operational shortfall.
TExES 268 School Operations & Policies 3
A campus principal discovers that a teacher has been sharing student discipline records with parents of other students involved in an incident.
Which law is MOST directly violated?